Live Ready!

Most of us use some form of planning device to help make our days a little more organized and so we can get the most out of our time here on Earth.

We each only get twenty-four hours a day, and most of the time it seems to me that I'm chasing my tail, trying desperately to fit it all in. But as I'm sure you know even the best laid plans never anticipate the unknown challenges that seem to crop into our daily routines.

And that brings me to the thought Joe McGee stirred in my mind as I listened to one of his messages on the family this morning. I'm never able to pencil in my daytimer when the devil comes against me. He just never let's me know when he's going to attack. And truthfully, wouldn't that be great? To know the date, time and place when he is going to start messing with us? Like for instance, today, January the twenty-fifth, at eleven fifteen in the morning Beelzebub, the enemy of mankind will begin an assault against your mind, write it down so you won't forget and be caught unprepared.

This may be one of the reasons that the Apostle Paul admonishes us to live ready. (2 Timothy 4:2) We do need to plan our lives daily, but we need to be ready for anything as well. That way we are not caught off guard when the enemy shows up knocking at our door. And it seems to me that so many people are shocked when they find the enemy harrassing them. They say things like, "Why is this happening to me?" "What did I do wrong?" "Doesn't God love me and want the best for me?"

Joe said in the teaching today, that when he was at his first church staff position, the Senior Pastor invited him into his office and said, "Joe, there are only two times when the devil will mess with you, now write this down. The devil will mess with you when you are out of the will of God." Joe said he wrote that down, then asked, "What is the second time Pastor?" The Pastor's reply was, "When you are in the will of God." The Pastor sat back and laughed, and laughed and laughed.

The truth of the matter is that even though he was joking with Joe, it is the truth. It doesn't matter whether you are in or out of the will of God, the devil is going to mess with you, and it will almost always be a the most inopportune time too! We must live ready, in and out of season as Paul told Timothy. And we shouldn't be surprised when the attacks against our lives come either.

The way that you will be prepared for the enemy, is by reading God's Word and doing what it says, (be a doer of the Word), praying in the Holy Ghost, and walking in love towards everyone you meet. The enemy may show up at your door unannounced, but that doesn't mean you don't have to be ready for him. Get 'em up folks, let's go whip something for the Kingdom today!